


A Grove of Flowers

by ginger_lian, Raykaytay



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Major Original Character(s), Mental Health Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, Psychological Trauma, Redemption, Sexual Violence, Slow Burn, Smut, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, azula is the bad guy, lin needs a hug, this is a heavy one please don't let the bits i'm doing in the tags indicate otherwise, toph and lin are bff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:42:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28370055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginger_lian/pseuds/ginger_lian, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raykaytay/pseuds/Raykaytay
Summary: Katara defeats Princess Azula after she had dealt a deadly blow to Zuko. After being healed by Katara's waterbender abilities, the young waterbender and Fire Prince storm the palace in order to secure victory over the Fire Nation. They never expected to see a half starved and abused girl around their age chained up in the princesses private quarters.~#~ OR ~#~How Zuko and my original character Linhua dance around each other and their own emotionally troubled pasts and fall in love. Buckle in, this ones a slow burn :)
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> MWAHAHAHA I have officially lost my shit, but I hope you like this! 
> 
> This first chapter will definitely be edited before I finish posting, but I am already about a quarter through writing. It will be a large fic, aiming for 200+ pages. I will be adding tags as I go. I will only be posting this first chapter as a place holder on my profile until I am done writing the fic. That way, I can upload everything at once and you won't have to wait for chapters to come out. 
> 
> I am compiling a list of songs that remind me of the fic as I write, so I will also have a playlist for those of you who like new music!
> 
> If you like this first chapter, bookmark this (and pls lemme know lol) so that you can be notified when I upload the whole fic!
> 
> DISCLAIMER:
> 
> This is a dark dark dark fic, and if sexual violence and thoughts of suicide triggers you, proceed with caution. My main original character struggles with it through out. I also bumped everyones ages up, so keep an eye out for that.
> 
> HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

She was asleep in her mothers lap and dreaming of the warm hearth her mother and father had built for her.

Slowly, in her subconscious, she heard her mom humming an old song about a pair of dragons on a hill, breathing fire and life to a grove nearby. The lyrics, while frightening, were sung so beautifully by the person holding her sleeping body.

Linhua stirred from a nightmare in her mother’s lap, to be immediately calmed by the stroke of a finger up and down her nose.

“If this is to end in fire  
Then we should all burn together  
Watch the flames climb high into the night”

Her mothers voice carried into her dream...

~#~

Fuzzily, her world became shaken back to reality. The sound of distant clattering had woken her from her day dream. She only had time to take a snapped breath before the noise reaches the closed door in front of her.

She can’t move, the rope around her wrists stings; she can barely even move her ankles. When she looks down at her tangled legs on the floor, all Lin sees are swollen bulbs where her joints used to be. She tries to move them against the bedframe she is tied to, but doesn’t move much before pain reddens her vision.

The scuffling has turned into banging as whoever is in the hallway tries to bust down the door. Linhua scurries into the beds legs to try and hide from the loud boom as the door bursts open to a flood of soldiers decked in green and gold.

Two soldiers hold a small makeshift battering ram of one of the statues that lined the corridor she knew to be beyond where they entered from. As the soldiers enter, a small girl trails in behind them. She is so out of place, just like Lin, in such a violent setting.

Lin squeals as the soldiers approach, which is a mistake as the girl immediately whipps toward her direction. When they lock eyes, Linhua suppresses all thoughts of how this girl was small. She seems to have the threat of fire in her eyes, even though she didn’t look to be fire nation, with dark skin, a broad nose and blue furs adorning her outfit.

The anger in the girl's eyes faded quickly once she took in the rope tied to Linhua’s wrists and ankles.

Linhua froze in fear as the girl approached her and in a soothing voice whispered in the chaos of the other soldiers searching the room, “Hello? Who are you?” A few stopped to watch as their apparent leader walked towards the chained girls in the corner.

Linhua startled at the touch of the dark skinned girl and started thrashing out suddenly finding her energy to fight against this.

She was scared.

She was confused.

This wasn’t anyone she’d seen in the palace before, even before Azula tied her up here three days ago.

She kicked out at the girl and Linhua’s linked feet connected to her face as they had started to crouch down to her crumpled form. As she landed the blow, one of the soldiers was all but ready to reciprocate back towards her and she was knocked out cold.

~#~

She dreamt of fire and her own screams wake her up.

Linhua finds herself in the infirmary, a room she knows all too well in the royal palace. The first thing she noticed, the girl from before in the blue clothes. Her eyes are closed as she hovers over Lin murmuring words under her breath and hands outstretched.

A man who looks so familiar is behind her and a few nurses are fluttering around the room with multiple full beds in them. The man's arms are pulled tight across his chest with a slight frown and large scar over his one eye. This doesn’t bother her though, as she has plenty of her own, but there's something about him that brings back a feeling of unsafety.

And then she realizes whose eyes she is looking at.

Azula’s voice cuts through her mind, _Hold still, like a good pet. Now… Look into my eyes…_

Lin hears herself shouting more than she feels it as she screams and thrashes against the dark skinned girl.

“Woah, hey, calm down” No way in hell. “I’m Katara, I'm here to help heal you. You're safe”

Like hell.

As the words barely register, Linhua finds her hands are no longer bound and that her ankles are sore and raw, but also free.

_Their mistake_ , she thinks before she lunges off the bend in a dead sprint, ignoring the pain in her joints and feet.

She needs to run. She knows those eyes.

Soon she is caught from behind and yanked backwards with a strong force. She turns ready to punch at whoever caught her, but her fist is immediately blocked, encased in another fist much larger than hers

She looks up in horror as she gazes at the eyes that hurt her, told her she was safe and tortured her for hours. This can’t be happening, why would Azula leave her free and then chase her down. She prefers her victims helpless and completely at her whim.

“Azula… please” she chokes up, fear seizing her vocal chords. She doesn’t break eye contact as she is held still. As the name Azula slips from her lips, the grip on her falters and she takes the advantage to pull herself free in one sharp twist. She falls into the arms of the girl who tried to introduce herself as Katara.

She collapses, hoping that this stranger will save her. She is wide-eyed and too afraid to let the enemy out of her sight, the enemy that had locked her in their private chamber to burn them over and over again laughing maniacally.

Katara soothes the boney and ragged girl down to the floor and suddenly she is bawling into her arms and yelling curses at the eyes that hurt her. Katara is trying to reason with her, clearly delirious, that Azula is in custody, they are with the Earth Kingdom, they have conquered Caldera and the Fire Nation has surrendered. Ozai is no longer the ruler of the fire Nation, neither is Azula. None of it registers as Linhua screams at a boy she cannot see, too clouded by the past, and traumas that have been burned into her too deep.

Katara is mumbling again, eyes closed as she holds her tight. Her vision darkens just enough, softens just enough to lose focus on the golden eyes before her to see the look of shock and hurt display on a young man’s face who is decidedly not Azula. A look of confusion falls on Linhua’s face as she drifts into sleep once again.

~#~

The next time she wakes, she is in a private bedroom in the palace, with one other in the room. Fear again stabs her heart before she remembers that this girl was helping her… Katara, she said her name was Katara right?

Katara-- or whoever she is-- is leaning against the wall near the balcony of the guest room. She is looking out over the dark sky of night as clouds float underneath the stars.

Before she can notice that Linhua is awake, Lin breaks the silence of the night.

“Who are you.”

It was a question, but framed in a cold tone in an attempt to convey a defense for her. Her voice was too coarse, the crying, the screaming, the delirious laughter that had escaped her in these last few days, had reduced her voice to gravel. She didn’t sound defensive, she sounded desperate.

With a start Katara turned to look at the skinny girl waking up in the bed. Huo Linhua-- Katara had discovered her name from the servants in the palace-- looked like death come early. Her clothes were loose and her collar bones taught against her shrunken skin. Deep purples shadowed her body paired with angry scars Katara knew were underneath her burned garments from Lin's earlier medical exam. But the worst part of looking at her now, the most painful thing to see, were her eyes. The only bright color against her pale palette, green, electric, and bright, but lit with fear. They were so wide they looked like they could burst out of her eyes at the next unexpected noise.

She tested the waters.

“I’m Katara.”

No reply.

“I’m a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe.” she continued, “I travel with the avatar”

At that, Linhua’s expression changed just enough for Katara to catch. Curiosity. She needed to capitalize on anything that calmed this girl away from fear.

“We came here to end the war. We won. We have taken control of Caldera and expect the rest of the smaller islands in the Fire Nation to follow suit by tomorrow.”

Katara tried to plaster a small smile in hope that would instigate trust, but the curiosity that had fleeted across Lin’s face was just that, fleeting. She suddenly had a glazed look over her eyes.

“Why am I here?” her voice spiked with sudden anxiety as her memories slowly came back to her “Why did your soldiers hit me?-- Who were you with in the infirmary?! His eyes, you can’t trust him he is a part of Azula, I think he is Ozai’s son, his eyes--”.

She was cut short by her own memories as she remembered blue flames and gold eyes as she screamed against a wood post that looked too much like that one she lay next to now. Though she wasn’t tied down and was free to run, she still felt paralyzed by the memory, the similarity of the rooms. This room was of course less decorative and extravagant, but it was still decked out in Fire nation red and oh my god she is still in the palace and where is Azula and--.

Just as her mind ran past the thought of Azula whereabouts, her eyes, which were flicking around the room in panic, landed on the water tribe girl across the room and said one word, the only think she could say as her panic seized her control.

“Azula?”

“In custody, in the jail tower across the city, under maximum protection from Earth Kingdom soldiers. She cannot get to you.”

“Not enough..” was all that Lin could force out of her lungs as she started to itch all over, feeling the burns on her skin flare against her clothes and she couldn’t breathe anymore

“Help… please” she was struggling to get out of bed and get up, anything to force air into her lungs, she just knew the plush blanket was only heightening her panic.

Katara rushed to her side and cooed her into sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest. Katara pushed her hands lightly on Lin's forehead and closed her eyes. Lin had no idea what was happening which was starting to freak her out even more. She was about to shove Katara off of her in frustration, but then she started to feel less concerned about the strange position of this stranger over her. Actually, she wasn’t even panicking over her breathing anymore as it slowed and normalized out underneath Katara’s touch. When her eyes opened to Lin’s, she was looking at her in amazement. She had never been able to calm herself down once she became panicked.

Katara smoothed out Linhua’s hair and gave her a reassuring smile. “I am a waterbender, a healer, and a teacher. That's why you were in the infirmary earlier, I was tending to your wounds.” But before Lin could focus again on the very real pain over her body, Katara deflected the conversation again.

“Have you always had panic attacks?” She was speaking gently, but the bluntness of the question still startled Lin.

“I think it's become an issue recently.. Too much is happening.. Too quickly.. Am I really safe here? Are you sure you’ve won? Azula can’t be beaten.”

The doubt in Lin’s voice is driven by her own insecurity, so she didn't mean to draw out the frustrated look from Katara.

“Of course I’m sure. I put her in chains myself.”

Linhua’s jaw dropped visibly and the harder, hurt look that was slightly framed on Katara’s face melted into light laughter as she looked back at the pale girl's reaction.

“What, like it's hard?” she said jokingly, but it was clearly the wrong thing to say.

“Yes. It is. She kept me locked up in this palace for days before you found me and I couldn’t seem to stop her.” Lin’s face was suddenly darkening as she spoke.

Katara was about to backpedal and apologize when the door was rapped upon. Katara reluctantly went to check as a look of fear flashed across Lin’s face. She couldn’t help it. Unexpected noises were bound to frighten her.

Katara’s hushed voice with her head stuck out the door piqued Linhua’s curiosity from before. If what Katara says is true and Azula really isn't a threat anymore, than she is safe. If Katara is wrong, then this is still as good a chance as any to make an opportunity escape.

She crept off the bed towards the balcony as that seemed to be the only other exit. Lin stepped on a creak in the floorboards and Katara instantly turned her head back in.

“Linhua! Wait!” she started to walk back into the room with an arm stretched out as if she could stop her with all this distance. As she entered the room, someone shadowed behind her. Lin assumed it was who Katara was in the hallway with, but wasn’t expecting to see that same boy from before in the infirmary. She started to have fear rise in her chest, as she felt the betrayal of Katara. How could she have said she was safe if she was consorting with a member of Azula’s family? Lin had always been stuck between fight, flight, or freeze reactions in her life. Earlier, when Katara found her tied to Azula’s bed, she froze. When she saw the banished prince in the infirmary, she flew. Now, cornered in a room, she chose to fight.

In the back of her mind she thought of how stupid this was and that she would lose if she tried. Katara had said she was a waterbender, and if the man’s eyes were any indication of his bloodline, he was definitely a fire bender. She panicked briefly about what it would be like to have flames licking at her skin again but squashed the thought down as hard as she could. This was her only chance to get out. She charged.

The prince moved too quickly in front of Katara and pushed his arm upwards to block Lin’s oncoming punch. Stunned, Lin started shaking and losing her balance.

Azula’s voice echoed through her head, causing Lin’s vision to tunnel.

_Idiot! How could you think you could stand a chance? You will never get out. All you are to them, is kindling._

She fell to the floor

“Just kill me”

Coward's words left her mouth before Lin could stop them. She crumpled to the ground, but before she could hit the floor, Linhua felt herself suspended. She was too numb, too hurt, too shocked by everything to immediately registar who picked her up.

“I’m not Azula.”

A deep voice ripped her out of the darkness she felt plunged into. She snapped her eyes towards the guy who was holding her.

“I’m not her. I won't hurt you, but you can’t go around and trying to swing on my friends.”

His words make her flash her eyes to Katara, who already has her arms reaching for her from the prince's grip. She jumps into them, still too frightened by the even-more-of-a-stranger-than-this-stranger stranger.

“Katara, I'm sorry, I just don’t belie--”

“I know, shush, it's okay, you're safe...” words of comfort ran out of Katara’s mouth, and Zuko looked at Katara, not for the first time, with admiration for being able to handle this situation with much more grace than he could have alone.

~#~

Zuko and Katara were aware of who this girl was. As soon as Katara found her tied to his sister’s bed, the maids and servants crooned over her unconscious body. Some of them gasped and said they thought she was dead, that they hadn’t seen her for days.

Apparently Azula and the girl-- her name was Linhua he reminded himself-- were once close, in the same way as Azula was close to Taili or Mei, but soon after the Avatar was spotted to be alive, by him no less, and word got out, Lin started getting more and more rebellious against Azula. The maids told Katara and he that Azula thought Lin had fallen too accustomed to her generosity. That Lin was not from nobility but was taken under Azula's wing at the request of Taili. She kept rebelling, no matter what punishment, physical or social that Azula would inflict. Lin would insist that the war was too brutal, had gone too far.

One maid told them that she even earned herself an audience with his father for such talk.

Katara had told him of how many burn scars littered her body, some newer, some older.

The maids and hand servants hadn’t seen her since five days ago when Azula dragged her into her private quarters after a particularly dramatic outburst where Linhua told Azula that she would never be Fire Lord and that the Avatar would beat her.

The screaming was heard through the palace for two days, and then nothing. Silence.

Zuko couldn’t bear to see the fear in her eyes when she looked at him, She even called him Azula. His small scar from his father seemed more and more like mercy the more he heard about Lin from the palace staff.

And here she was, having fallen into Katara's arms and away from his, now a puddle on the floor.

He had no idea how his presence, an obviously painful reminder for her, was any help. He left the room too swift for Katara to stop him.

~#~

Katara had put Lin back to sleep in her bed, and once she was sure that Linhua was out for the night, left the room in search of Zuko.

As the dust settled after defeating Azula and healing Zuko after their Agni Kai, on top of organizing the Earth Kingdom soldiers to accompany her to raiding and capturing the palace and subsequents court homes of the nobility, Katara was not prepared to find a wounded animal tied to Zuko’s sister’s bedpost in need of dire medical attention. She knew that Zuko’s family didn’t have a problem hurting others, even their own family, but to see torture like that... The flesh was charred black in some parts of this young woman's leg. She wanted to vomit, but the healer in her went on autopilot to do what had to be done.

Most of the burns that she suspected Azula had inflicted were able to be healed, but a few seemed older, and were starting to scar. There was a particularly nasty mark on her thigh that looked too much like a gripping handprint for it to be from anything else.

_This poor girl._ Katara thought as she roamed the halls to find Zuko. She was about to give up and go to her room when she saw a slumped figure near the baseboards at the end of the hallways she was walking down.

“Zuko?’” his head shot up. She saw his body rack and she sprinted towards him.

“Zuko, what is wrong? Are you hurt? Did someone get to you?” Her mind was racing as she scanned his body for any sign of blood but he was breathing irregularly, and she was starting to lose it.

“She couldn’t even look at me.” Was all he said. He suddenly got his breathing under control and was back to being as composed as he could be. Katara’s face fell.

“Oh.” she mouthed dumbly. She hadn’t even given a thought to how Linhua was treating Zuko or how it would affect him. She was too worried about the welbeinging of her patient to see the toll it was taking on her friend.

When Zuko didn’t respond, Katara placed a hand on his shoulder, willing him to look up at her. He did.

“She is in shock, Zuko. Her heart has taken on too much strain. It isn’t about you.” She tried to comfort him, but could tell he wasn’t to be reasoned with, He had a stubborn look of self-loathing plastered onto his face.

“Zuko.” she tried again. “You are nothing like Ozai. You are nothing like Azula. She will realize that. This is all just too new to her to process.”

“It's not about just her” he said meekly, “what if no one is able to look at me without seeing my fathers eyes, my sisters glare.”

Katara thought long and hard about what to say next. She knows about his family. He’s confided in her enough to know how truly terrible they are, even to their own blood. But it didn’t occur to her that their treatment of Linhua would be a shock to him too. He didn’t know this is what his family was capable of…

“What if they see your mother’s heart instead, or your uncle’s wisdom.”

He looked up again at that. Gratitude in his eyes, and katara knew she said the right thing.

“Give her time. Give everyone time. Time heals better than any waterbender could.” She finished her line with a wink to try and lighten the mood and it kinda worked. She saw the worry leave his brow as his face relaxed.

“Now come one, Aang and the others will be here by the morning with a whole bunch of politics we will have to deal with. We need to sleep.”

At that, they both headed to their own quarters, both thinking about the scared girl with paper thin skin down the hall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I am the second author ginger_lian! Here's chapter two of our fic! We have about half of the fic complete now, but we figured we'd give you another teaser before we post the complete fic! We gotta keep y'all on your toes, sorry!
> 
> Just a quick disclaimer, everyone's age has been shifted by 4 years, but it still takes place right after the show ends. Zuko would be 20. Sokka, and Suki are 19. Aang and Toph are 16 and Katara is 18. Linhua is 21 in this fic.
> 
> We hope you guys like it and please bookmark and comment on the fic so you can be updated when we post next!

Chapter 2

Katara stayed early into the morning in the guestroom with Linhua. Lin kept bombarding her with questions and answering very few. Linhua conceded that she didn’t know much about what was happening outside the palace these past few months, and that Azula was keeping her a tight leash, literally, due to her distaste for the Fire nations apparent cruelty. 

When Katara didn’t seem shocked by this news, but instead bore a look of understanding, she figured out that the palace staff must have clued the waterbender in on who Lin was around here. Feeling violated, she decided that Katara could just keep getting her information from the staff, and acted like she fell asleep.

Katara quietly left while Lin waited a few more minutes to be sure she was really gone. Once the coast was clear, Linhua leapt out of bed and went for the door. Slowly, she turned the intricate knob and snuck out into the hallway. She didn’t know where she was going. To run away? Katara was a stranger. No matter how sweet and sincere she seemed, she had no reason to gain Lin’s trust. But if Azula was really locked away, could Lin break out? Is she safe, for sure? Is the war really over? She needed more proof than someone’s word. Especially someone who was acting so friendly with a member of the royal family. A strikingly stoic and surprising member, but a member no less.

Lin turned a corner and saw a guard coming her way. Quickly she rotated back around before being caught and lectured herself in her head for being so stupid for running around haphazardly. Lin didn't see a way back through the halls as the guard was approaching the corner she hid behind. She tried a door behind her and went inside quietly. She breathed out against the door, only to turn around and find herself in a large open room lined with books and scrolls from floor to ceiling.

Her mouth dropped at the beauty of the room. She had been in several rooms across the palace, but this one must be near the Fire Lord’s private wing; she was never around this part of the building. She saw the grand desk in the middle of the room, clean except for a few ornate scrolls. From another door across the room, a handmaid appeared and placed more scrolls on the desk. The servant’s head was down cast and didn't see Linhua in the corner of the shadows. Once the scroll bearer had left, Lin hastily went to the main desk.

She inspected each scroll with hungry eyes as the night rolled on. Lin would simply hide underneath the desk when another servant came to drop more scrolls off. At around three past midnight, the desk was covered with information. Not just information, but proof. Proof in the form of concession statements from other cities and islands across the Fire Nation. She stays up reading and familiarizing herself with the politics that continue to flood in throughout the night.

Katara was telling the truth. The war was over.

~#~

She wakes to the scarred prince tapping her shoulder as she is stretched out rather scandalously on the main desk with papers all around her.

“Huh? Wh-- Oh. You…”

Throughout the night, Linhua had received multiple scrolls from the local government swearing loyalty to the son of Ozai, who apparently fought alongside his once enemy, the Avatar, against his sister and father to the war. She was one hundred percent still wary of him, and could not steal herself to trust anyone with that shade of gold in their eyes, but it seemed that the politically smart thing to do in this situation is to swallow her fear.

Zuko’s brow furrowed in response to her mellow reaction to his presence. Lin can hardly blame him. A twinge of nausea comes and goes as she remembers how erratic her behavior was the previous day. As her cheeks flush red, she blames her actions on exhaustion and shock; however, her conscience reminds her of the dark issues where the behavior really stemmed from.  _ Swallow it down _ , she thought,  _ swallow it down _ .

Her past was too messy to deal with in the middle of a transfer of power, so she pushed the thoughts away, something she wished she would have done yesterday.

Zuko still stood there in front of the desk shocked at her sprawled out over top of what must have been his fathers furniture. She decided it would probably be best if she broke the awkward silence he was omitting as she rose from the wood.

“I’m sorry about yesterday… Agni, I can’t even remember what all I said”-- a lie-- “but I'm seriously so sorry, I was just in shock, I think, so…” Her voice trailed out thinking how lame she sounded in front of someone who was about to be crowned Fire Lord.

Fear in her throat, Swallow it down.

“No.. it's okay.. I-- I mean…” something in his awkward expression shifts into confusion. “Wait, what are you doing in my private chambers?”

She can’t help it. She laughs. “These aren’t yours yet. You are not officially Fire Lord until the ceremony is over. We are currently in a position of transitional power and there is no head of state. These quarters are vacant.”

Her smug glare and overflow of politically correct information made-- oh, what was his name on those scrolls?-- the prince blush in embarrassment. 

  
To put him out of his misery, Linhua continues, “I was reading. Don’t tell Katara, but I have been here since she left me.” Lin turns to the desk, picks up a few scrolls for dramatic effect and plops them on to Zuko. He struggles to not drop them in surprise. Lin can’t help but laugh at how young he looks. He has to be around her age… Her memories are lifted to Azula, and she crushes them under more forced laughter. “Looks like you need to catch up, Fire Lord Apparent.”

With that she turns to leave, hoping to place distance between herself and bad memories that have nothing to do with some dork in his twenties who can’t hold four scrolls at a time. Before she makes it to the door, a boy bursts through with a slightly older guy on his tail. The boy is bald with strange arrows down his body while the other has the sides of his hair shaved short and is wearing clothes similar to Katara’s: fur lined and the color of oceans. 

In her shock of the newcomer's entrance, Lin takes a few steps back, trying to control herself. That’s when Katara comes into the room with a girl next her that has pale grey eyes. Lin holds eye contact with Katara to try and signal that she is about to lose all her composure she was working on building last night, and finally Katara notices Lin is in the room and looks up with a start. 

“Lin? I thought you were still in bed? Did somebody bring you here?”

All eyes were suddenly on her, in a room of practical strangers, not counting Katara and his royal highness. She froze. 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Katara who spoke up in the silence.

“She’s been here catching up on these concession scrolls. Apparently all night.” Lin shoots daggers at Zuko, slightly peeved that he exposed her after she asked to keep her late night excursion between the two of them. Zuko holds the scrolls that Lin had placed in his hands up for effect, but his grip on the paper loosens as he notices her glare and he drops them all to the floor, flustered. 

The room erupts into laughter but the noise and the people and the stress all rush into her as she runs out the door she saw the palace staff use late last night. Lin hears the room go silent in confusion towards her outburst as the door shuts behind her. Not wanting to run away, and also not know where to go, Lin collapses against the door and puts her body into a ball. As she rocks back and forth to calm herself, she wonders why Katara isn’t coming to gather her up when the door comes out from behind her. 

Lin clatters to the ground and back into the room she had run from. Katara is over her body with a shocked and pitying expression, urging Lin to quickly scuffle upright.

With a short huff of breath and a sharp wave of her hand Lin figures she may as well introduce herself like a normal human being.

“Uh, hi, everyone. Linhua, here.” 

~#~

“Okay, what gives, who’s the outsider?”

“Sokka!” Katara turned on the boy with a glare that seemed well practiced on him.

Sokka, as Katara called him, shot back a dumbfounded glare of his own, shrugging his arms up towards Linhua incredulously. Before Katara could lay into the boy, the small monk with the strange markings on his head started towards Lin.

“Hi, Linhua. I’m Aang. It's nice to meet you!” He beamed at Lin with a little too much trust and she felt nervous laughter rise in her throat at how silly this guy’s-- he couldn’t be older than sixteen-- smile was.

“Are those tattoos?” Lin asks, curious from the idea of such a young boy having full body tattoos.

“Yep!” Aang says, looking like a ray of sunshine. Lin hesitates, still confused and before she can ask why she is interrupted by a booming, yet feminine voice.

“Whoah, whoah, whoah, let’s give her some room guys, okay? Her heart rate is positively booming right now.” 

The short girl in the corner looked to be about the same age as Aang, but there was something off about when she spoke. She didn't bother making eye contact with anyone, and when she turned her head towards Linhua, she realized why her eyes were so pale. The young girl was blind.

Lin gave a very impolite gasp which snapped the girls attention to her instead of the group.

“What, you never seen a blind person before?” She huffed. “You may address me as Lord of the Melons, and that is it.” She finished her sentence with a nod of finality while Katara looked around at her friends growing more and more exacerbated. 

“Okay, Toph, Aang, Sokka, meet Linhua, she’s from here and lived in the palace for a while with Azula--”

Lin saw the growing look of suspicion on the group's faces as they heard that she lived with the royal family, so she interrupted Katara. 

“Yeah, right until they chained me up and tortured me for rebelling against their idea of political order.”

Lin’s tone was nonchalant, as if she could just roll right past that part and act strong in front of the strangers before her, but her voice trailed off too quiet in the end and everyone was looking at her with pity. Just like Katara was when she opened the door on her earlier.

But soon the tone shifted and their gazes weren’t on her, they were on someone behind her. She nearly forgot he was in the room when she slowly turned back to meet his golden eyes. She was prepared to put her defenses up, per usual, but there was something in his expression that threw an ax into her mental walls. 

He looked guilty. He looked saddened and he looked like he would do anything for her confession to not be the truth.

Lin was thrown for a loop. She wasn’t used to seeing Azula’s face like that and-- oh… It wasn’t Azula; she had to keep reminding herself. She shut her eyes tight and pushed the images of the angry Fire Princess down, only to open them again to Zuko, closer to her than before, with his brow sewn with concern.

“Are you alright?” His voice is suddenly too raspy and she is too confused and there are four other people just behind her in this room and--

He reaches out to touch her shoulder.

“Zuko, she is about to have a heart attack, give her some space.” Toph’s voice seemed light compared to her booming statements from before.

“I-I-- I have to go, I’m sorry” Lin tries to shrug it off with a laugh “I am parched and it's breakfast and the day is young and--” she kept mumbling as she backed out the door she entered through late last night. The group before her was watching her go silently, not quite knowing what to do. Lin was so tired of that look of pity already. The last thing she says before she shuts the door is another apology. 

~#~

“Uh, Katara? What’s going on here?” Aang’s bright and innocent voice snapped Katara out of her reverie. All eyes in the room were on her. Well, all eyes except for Zuko’s which were downcast on his open palm at his side.

Katara could see his scar so vividly from this angle. It was pink and wrinkled, but now it didn’t seem so severe against his pale skin. After yesterday, she’d seen worse.

“We found her tied to Azula’s bed burned down to the bone. The staff said that she was left there for upwards of five days. She’s hurt. She needs our help.”

Sokka’s expression went from defensive to broken. Aang looked confused, while Toph, for once, had nothing to say. Only Zuko spoke up.

“Who knows how long she’s been my sister’s punching bag.”

The room grew silent, which was never good when imagining the worst. 

Katara went to Zuko and pulled him into a hug. Pretty soon, the whole gang was coming up behind Katara to get closer to Zuko. She could see how the intimacy made him squirm, but he eventually folded back into her hug and pretty soon they were all a pile of bodies giving their love to a friend. 

“It’s okay, Zuko. She doesn’t blame you.” 

“Yeah,” Aang broke off, “Unlike Azula and Ozai, when faced with a choice you ultimately chose good. Lin will see that eventually.”

Katara gazed up at him as she pulled away “We will all make sure she heals. You don’t have to shoulder this burden or any burden alone.” 

“That's what we are here for, buddy.” Sokka patted him on the shoulder.

“Plus!” Toph chimed in, still holding onto Zuko's torso, “I am totally open to hugging you more often like this, Sparky.”

Zuko had the gall to blush as Toph finally released him. “Thank you. I don’t even want to think about how everything would have gone… what I would have done, if it weren’t for all of you.”

Katara gave one final squeeze of Zuko’s hand and walked over to the scrolls he had dropped earlier. 

“Okay then, plenty of time to get all lovey dovey later.” Sokka moved to help his sister with the scrolls. “You have a nation to rebuild, Sifu Hotman.” Sokka pointedly looked at Toph and cracked a wide grin.

~#~

_ Just breathe, you can handle a little more heat, can’t you, Lin? _

“No!” Lin was pacing around her guest chambers, feeling an all to familiar sense of disgust wash through her veins. Her face grew hot, much like her tears as they streamed down her face. Why does she have to stay here? Why can’t she run away?

_ You know why. You need me. _

“Ugh!” Her arms swing out and a vase shatters against the far wall next to the door. It’s the sound of porcelain smashing that draws Lin away from her thoughts. 

She sinks to the floor and wails.

_ There’s a good pet. Lie still. _

She screams.

_ Shhh, hush, no one is going to save you… _

“Lin?”

A false look of calm falls down on her face so quickly as she hurriedly compacts her trauma, saving it for when she is undisturbed. Linhua fully expected it to be Katara who would run after her, but once the minutes had passed, she realized no one would. The loneliness that followed was like an open flood gate for her insecurities and inner pain. The voice that lingered in the back of her mind happily returned to her once she was truly alone.

Linhua silenced the voice and looked up to the small Earth Kingdom girl who was peeking her body into the doorway of Lin’s bedroom. 

“Huh? You’re-- uh… sorry,” cracking a superficial grin, “Melon Lord is all I can remember…” She tries for false security and lighthearted jokes, they usually work. Well, at least they did for Mei and Taili.

Except the girl's face doesn’t change. It’s almost like she can tell Lin was faking it, but that can’t be it right. She’s had enough practice to know that she is exellect in putting on a mask.

“It’s Toph, though Melon Lord certainly does have it’s appeal.” The girl-- Toph-- tries for a small smile herself.

“I’m sorry I gasped at you,” The words fell out of Lin’s mouth before she could stop them. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable…” Lin’s eyes were downcast. She really didn’t mean to have such a visible reaction to something that should be seen as normal. Linhua knew some people were blind, she just really and truly had never seen a blind person before.

“It’s fine. If I weren’t tough enough to handle people gawking at me, I wouldn’t have made it this far in life. I might still even be stuck playin’ helpless at my parents house…”

“Huh? What happened with your parents?” Lin didn’t mean to pry, but she couldn’t help it. She knew all too well what keeping things inside can do to a person, and for some reason, she thought that Toph was hiding parts of her away too…

“Oh-- uh, well...they were good, don’t get me wrong. But, they, I don’t know… always treated me like I was breakable. They thought they knew what was best for me, and didn’t care what I thought about it… I wanted for nothing, except for the one thing I really needed… their love.”

Linhua’s heart hurt for the girl. Toph seemed like a class clown in a sense, but to have the image of your parents as unloving? That  _ had _ to be a burden on her everyday…

“I’m so sorry, Toph. No one should feel powerless, even when they are young.”

Toph looked up surprised at Lin’s reaction to her. Whenever Toph had tried to confide in her friends, they were either too busy, or just glossing over it. Just a few days ago, she tried to tell Zuko the same thing she was telling Lin, but he told her that there were more important things to worry about than that. I mean he wasn’t wrong, Aang had just disappeared right before the big showdown with Loser Lord Ozai, but still... It hurt.

Toph was snapped out of the memory when Lin continued.

“If you want, we can talk a little? I know you are probably in here because I ran out of the room like that and that was silly of me I know--”

Toph’s sharp laughter stopped Lin from further explanation.

“HA! You crack me up, princess. I came in here because I could hear that vase being broken from down the hall!”

Lin’s smile tightened, but not out of anger at Toph, but because here she was, thinking she had pulled one over on the girl and-- wait, she could hear the vase from down the hall? It didn’t crash that loud…

“Wait,” Lin’s voice suddenly in interrogation mode, “How could you hear the vase if you were all the way down the hall?” Hands on her hips, Lin was prepared to grill Toph for answers.

“Oh, you are just as dumb as Sokka.” Toph seemed unintimidated by Lin’s stance. “I’m an earthbender. I can see and hear through the ground. I felt that vase shatter more than I actually heard it… Honestly, Jitterbug, how did you think I was walking around?”

“Woah, you can bend?” The look of astonishment filled Lin’s face. Katara said she was a waterbender, which was  _ insane _ , but to meet an earthbender too? Excitement began to take control of her brain.

“Yeah, babe, most of us can.” Toph's laughter continued to reign through her words. “I’ll take it, that means you can’t. Bend, that is.”

“No,” Lin breathes out, still amazed. “Can you show me? The only person I’ve seen bend is--” Her memories crept up on her too quickly and Lin silently curses herself for being too stupidly nonchalant. Toph's face twists in concern. “Azula,” Lin pushes the name out. 

Linhua can tell that Toph sees through her. It must have something to do with her earthbending skills. However, she very graciously and with Lin’s gratitude chose to ignore the slip. 

“I would love to show you sometime.” Toph blushes slightly, but then a devious grin spreads across the young girl's face. “Plus, I’d kill to have a chance to beat up some of my friends. Melon Lord forever!”

Both girls explode in laughter, and even though Lin can tell that Toph must be a few years younger than her, she thinks they will have no problem becoming fast friends. 

“However, that glorious day of battle will have to wait. The coronation is starting soon. It’s okay if you don’t want to come, but if you do, you are more than welcome.” Toph’s smile at Lin makes her trust her even more. It isn’t as goofy as the bald monk’s smile was, but it still makes her heart feel at ease. 

“I didn’t know the coronation would happen so soon… But this is my nation, and I would be honored to attend such an important moment for it.” 

In her heart, Lin knows that seeing Zuko take the crown is bound to be stressful for her, but as long as they don’t get too close, she should be fine. Besides, if she is really to trust these new strangers in her life, today seems as good a day as any to start.

“Just let me get changed into something more formal.” Toph nods and goes to wait outside the door. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another treat! we have nearly 100 pages written up so far and I am so excited to continue sharing little piece of this fic with you all until it is completed!
> 
> The plan is still to post the whole thing at once, but we figured we would leak what we had before then!
> 
> Hope you all like this chapter, were we get to see more interaction between Zuko and Lin! 
> 
> Disclaimer: I changed the spelling of some names to commemorate actual Chinese heritage and culture, but I am certain that you will still be able to recognize our beloved characters!
> 
> Enjoy!!
> 
> \- Ray

The palace steps were Lin’s favorite place in all of Caldera. When she had just become friends with Taili, Mei, and… well, Azula, she walked up these steps for the first time thinking how beautiful this place was. The grandiose architecture and cut marble felt so magical to her. This was the center of politics in the Fire Nation, and, for the past 100 years, was central to decisions that affected every nation in the world, even if it was through the violence of war. 

She was now at the base of the main staircase mixed into a crowd of people from all over the world. Before today, she had only ever met people from the Fire Nation. While it was all so overwhelming, it wasn’t shutting Linhua down the way she thought it would. She couldn’t help but feel allured and excited by the diversity around her. 

At the top of the stairs stood a few fire sages giving the official introduction of Prince Zuko. The large red doors behind the old sages swung open slowly, and from the shadows beyond the doorway, Lin saw him slink into the crowd's line of sight. 

Linhua’s heart seized and beat out of her chest, remembering a different set of the same colored eyes heading her way, but then Zuko halts at the edge of the stairway, looking out over the crowd of people.

Toph’s hand reaches for Linhua’s upper arm and she squeezes lightly for reassurance. Well that settles it, Toph had to be able to tell what her heart is doing right now. Lin lifts her hand to touch Toph’s in a silent thank you for grounding her back to reality. When their hands fall back to their sides, Lin watches as Zuko quickly scans the crowd, his eyes landing on her albeit briefly. She was suddenly hyper aware of her choice of dress.

Being raised in the Fire Nation, she was no stranger to midriffs being bare and skirts slit up the thigh. As she grew up, Lin watched that most girls were always showing off their sun tanned skin. Her skin, however, was pale as moonlight. The red and gold of her silk, two-piece qipao highlighted the red of her burn scars seen through the slits on her legs, and pink ember marks on her abdomen are seen through the crop in her dress. 

outfit reference

  
Lin knew she couldn’t hide what she looked like, and to cover her skin would be strange anyway. She just wished that someone else with a burn scar so publicly visible would be able to refrain from double taking on her injuries. 

In her fit of self-pity, she missed Zuko introducing Aang onto the dais with him.

“Why is Aang with the Fire Lord? It’s tradition for the crowned Fire Lord to stand on the dais alone,” Lin whispered to the girl beside her.

Toph turned slightly towards Lin. “Wait, did no one tell you? Didn’t you just hear Zuko introduce him? Aang is the Avatar.” The dumbfounded look that struck Linhua’s face made Toph’s professional composure crack as she let out a muffled laugh.

“Sorry, Jitterbug, someone should have really told you.”

Linhua spent the rest of the brief ceremony at Toph’s side. She decided she needed to stick with the earthbender for more information about how a boy that bubbly could possibly have defeated Ozai.

When the speeches were over, Toph led Lin to meet with Katara and Sokka near the base of the staircase. 

When they reached the two, a group of girls was chatting languidly with them. They were dressed in green armour and warrior’s face paint. Lin thought she heard Sokka call them Kyoshi something.

“Lin!” Sokka unexpectedly turns to Toph and her. “You need to come meet Suki.” 

As Sokka drags her to the center of the group, Linhua wonders how this morning she's an “outsider” and now she’s someone to be actively included. By the way Katara and Toph don’t seem phased by their friend’s reaction, she just assumed that Sokka’s mood swings were a common thing. 

The aforementioned Suki is at the center of the female warriors smiling at Linhua like the two were best friends. The rest of the warriors looked pleased too, whether that was on account of Lin’s arrival or the celebration happening around them, she couldn’t say. There was one girl behind Suki whose face faltered upon Lin’s placement. Linhua found her familiar, but couldn’t quite place who she was. Linhua shook her thoughts away and focused on the new stranger in front of her. 

“Hello, you must be Suki. My name is Linhua.” And not forgetting her manners at such a politically important event, bowed low to the ground as Suki returned the gesture. As soon as the bows broke, however, the girl from behind her stepped forward.

“Linny?”

_ No, not now, you are doing so well, please, no _ . Linhua’s eyes shut tight and Sokka is right behind her thinking that she might collapse. 

“Linny, is me, It's Taili… Oh my god, I didn’t know you would be here… I mean I hoped, but--” The voice from her past broke into a sob and soon it's not Sokka’s hands holding her up, but her friend’s, Taili’s.

No one else in the group seemed to have a clue what to do next and Lin can barely hold back the flood of memories that are drowning her in the middle of this Agni forsaken courtyard. By some miracle Lin was still standing as she tested the waters with her old friend. Lin reached her hands out to return Taili’s embrace.

Lin could hear Taili quietly sobbing into her arms as she was taken to a day she had done her best to forget.

_ “Taili and Mei, you two shall accompany me in hunting down Zuzu. And if we happen to kill the Avatar on our way, all the better.” Azula’s glint in her eye was never a sign of joy, but one of control. _

_ “Azula?” Taili’s voice was small compared to the sharp tone the princess crafted. “What about Lin?”  _

_ The three girls turned to where Linhua was sitting taking notes with her inkwell on hand. Azula had asked her to sit in on this meeting, claiming that it was more of a get together of old friends than anything of great importance. She was lucky to be invited. _

_ “Linhua? Don’t be absurd, there isn’t a place for her on the ship. Besides, she is much more suited for less important work here in the palace.”  _

_ Azula’s words were meant to cut away at Lin’s insecurities even more. She couldn’t bend like Azula. She couldn’t fight like Mei, or block qi like Taili. She knew she was weak and would be more of a burden than aid to the princess. And Azula does not forgive burdens. _

_ The meeting was concluded and Lin wondered, to herself, of course, why she was even asked to attend. Azula slipped behind where she was seated and Lin had to school her emotions so that she didn’t jump at Azula’s hands on her shoulder.  _

_ “You will never leave this palace again. You’re mine.” Lin could practically hear the smirk in Azula’s voice as she trailed her hands lower down the front of her chest and over her shirt and underbindings. Upon feeling the undergarment Lin put on early the morning, Azula’s hands grew hotter. Lin stayed as still as she could. “What have I told you about wearing these stupid things?” Her hands rose to her neck, already shrinking at the lack of food Azula was supplying her daily.  _

_ Suddenly, Azula’s hands felt like stove tops around her neck and Lin winced in pain, trying to push herself away from Azula’s grip. _

_ She couldn’t fight her off and-- _

Toph’s voice cut through the memory and Lin’s eyes flew open. It had all seemed so real… But no, she wasn’t in the meeting room, she was in the courtyard. With about five different people staring at Taili and her holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it.

“Alright, what the fuck. You two know each other?” the earthbender shouted, a little too loudly, stirring attention from those outside of their group.

Lin gently pried Taili away from her, trying to meet her eyes. 

“Taili, TaiTai, can you open your eyes for me? I’m alright, I’m safe” The words of comfort fell from her mouth before she could even tell if they were the truth, but it didn’t matter as long as Taili would just stop crying. She hated when Taili was upset. 

With her facepaint smudged off and staining her armor, Taili finally met Linhua’s eyes. 

“I thought you were dead,” she all but whispered. However, her attempt at keeping this quiet was too little, too late. Toph’s earlier exclamation brought the attention of the whole courtyard to their little reunion. “I thought she killed you.”

“I know, I know, It’s okay. I’m here.” Lin had no idea where this comforting side of her was coming from, she just couldn’t let Taili be sad, especially not over someone like her.

Lin desperately tried to meet the group’s eyes, and ended up signaling Suki to come and gather up Taili. This poor girl hadn’t even said a word to Lin, but she was already dealing with her messes. Oh well, as long as Taili was in good hands and Suki was taking care of her. 

When Taili was finally pulled out of Linhua’s arms, Lin rounded to the group behind her, prepared to clarify what was going on, when she bumped into someone's chest. 

_ Oh,  _ she dumbly thought, the smell of spicy foods and smoke filling her senses. Lin quickly jumped back and looked up to see Zuko looking down at her in shock, Aang right behind him. 

“Agni,-- uh, I mean, my apologies, Fire Lord Zuko. Please forgive me.” Lin drops to the floor in a full bow on her knees in front of the new Fire Lord.

_ You are insanely dumb,  _ she lectures herself. 

Literally within twenty minutes of Zuko being crowned, she did something to upset her new Fire Lord. She sat on the floor, slightly trembling, wondering what type of leader he will be. Will he strike at her like his father? Act like the transgression was fine and then round up on her in private like his sister did?

She stayed there on the floor until Katara had to pull her up lightly by her elbows. She looked up, confused, at Zuko’s face and was shocked to see an equal amount of confusion in his eyes. Shouldn’t he be mad at her? And is that a creeping blush running up his neck?

As Katara finally got Lin on her feet again, Lin tilted her head down, avoiding the Fire Lord’s eyes. Maybe it’s just because it’s his first day and he just doesn’t know  _ how _ to beat people.

“Lin, you really don’t need to do all that.” Katara’s soft voice had a small inflection of teasing in it that made Lin blush as well. She looked up to find that the Fire Lord was blushing even brighter. This was the weirdest thing ever.

Sokka started cackling with Toph in succession. 

“Hey, Sifu Hotman, do we all have to start treating you like that now?” Sokka wiped a tear from his eye while Toph barked out, “HA! I swear I will not  _ ever _ talk to you like that, no matter what country you run.”

Pretty soon the whole group was laughing at the situation but it felt like they were laughing at Lin, which was only heightening her confusion. Isn’t this how you were supposed to address the Fire Lord?

Zuko coughed in an awkward way which brought her eyes back to his. Lin started, but she had to admit she was getting better at suppressing the swell of anxiety she felt every time she looked at him.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me, it’s okay,” he said in a whisper over the rest of his friend’s laughter. Only Lin heard him. A little louder, he broached, “I was coming down the steps to find you all, but I heard Toph shouting and Taili in your arms crying… I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry before.”

It was a statement but she understood the underlying question. What was up with that?

With a deep breath, Lin tried to reconcile herself to the group, who were all now silent and waiting for her response.

“Taili was my first friend in the palace. I met her around three years ago and we have been inseparable since. That’s how I knew Azula.” Lin silently applauded herself with how normal she sounded when she said her name. 

“Taili, this girl named Mei, Azula and I, we all became inseparable… That was until--” She broke off trying to recall the time period as accurately and as smooth as she could to her new group. “-- um, I think it must have been around ten months ago? Azula took Taili and Mei away to go hunt for--” another break in her speech, but this time it is not rehearsed.  _ They went hunting for Zuzu, Azula’s brother. Zuko was Azula’s brother. _

Katara’s eyes blew wide with understanding. “Hunting for Zuko… or hunting for Aang?”

Aang looked alarmedly towards Zuko, but the Fire Lord’s gaze stayed on Lin. She was too frozen to speak, memories were fighting for control of her consciousness, but she  _ had _ to fight them away. Now wasn’t the time.

“You didn’t happen to go by Zuzu… Did you?”

At that Zuko's face was instantly changed into a snarl.  _ Whoops, wrong thing to say _ .

“That name will forever haunt me,” He growled out, but not maliciously. Sokka, Aang, and Toph all burst into laughter again, and not for the first time Linhua wonders how someone could laugh as much as these people do… With a pang to her heart, she thought they must all be really good friends.

“Yeah… well they left to go get you guys I guess,” Lin continued trying to breeze past the sudden chill she got when looking at the relative strangers in front of her. “But, Azula ordered me to stay here. She, uh, forcefully left me here, I guess you could say.” Lin gestures to her wrists, now clear of markings thanks to Katara. 

The images of fire and Azula wouldn’t leave her mind and they all danced in front of her eyes as she plastered on a fake smile and waited for someone to respond.

“If you were her friend,” Aang’s voice rose from the silence, “Then why did Katara find you, um.. Well, the way she found you…”

_ Great question, Avatar _ . She thought with a glare towards him. She wanted this conversation to be over, so she said her next words as bluntly as she could. 

“Because I told her she would never be Fire Lord. I told her that the Avatar would come and save me. Which, uh--.” Her voice softened, “Thank you for…”

Aang looked at her with deep sorrow and then said, “Well, I would say it was more Zuko and Katara that did the saving for you, they were the ones who took down Azula.” Aang slapped Zuko’s back causing him to go stiff at the contact.

Linhua turned to the exacerbated Fire Lord, who looked like he wished he could be literally anywhere else right now. “Thank you, my Lord.”

His eyes visibly melted against her voice. Linhua was lost in them and felt frozen, but not quite. Paralyzed yet not cold. She felt hot, like the fire she knew he could conjure in his hands was heating her through eye contact alone. She was in an all too familiar trance. 

Then his eyes darted quickly to the exposed skin her dress left visible and to the red angry markings she knew were there. Lin instantly felt shame and ugliness rush her instead of the heat he was giving her. She doesn’t need him, with scars of his own, to look down on her. Desperate to change what was happening with her, Lin turned to Katara as well. “Thank you so much.”

After a beat, Lin turned on Sokka. “Is there any way you might know where those warriors went off to? I wanted to make sure Taili was alright.”

Sokka, unprepared to speak, stuttered in reaction. “Uh-- um, yeah, they were heading for the docks. They had to head back to the Earth Kingdom as soon as the ceremony was over. They went to Ba Sing Se.”

“Oh.” Lin must have looked visibly crushed because Sokka quickly amended himself. “We were planning on heading there tomorrow! Just for a few days. The victory is still so new, and Aang needs to be on the ground to help transfer power peacefully.” A pause. “You are more than welcome to come with us… Linny.” 

Sokka’s use of her nickname surprised her, but she fed into the reaction he was hoping for anyway, not wanting to cause too much alarm at her mood. She playfully glares at Sokka, giving the gang around her permission to laugh along with them.

Ba Sing Se, tomorrow. She’d never left the Fire Nation. But something in these people’s eyes, in the way they are so comfortable with each other, made Linhua say something she never thought she would say. 

“Sure. I’ll be ready when you are.”

~#~

It was dark outside when Zuko was finally able to steal himself away from the politics of the day. Not for the first time today did Zuko wish his uncle would have taken the throne instead of him. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the great honor that had been handed to him, he just still struggled with accepting that he deserved it.

As he walked out into the night beyond the palace, his mind drifted back on the hectic and eventful day. And it was just the beginning. He was chased around by fire sages for hours about how traditional robes are necessary, how political representatives from Earth Kingdom colonies were awaiting his presence, and how he didn’t have time to regroup with everyone or to check in on a certain guest. 

Lin’s face flashes before his eyes. When he looked down from the dais that morning, he hadn’t expected to see her there. He thought she would be too skittish for the crowd, or honestly to even see him.

It wasn’t lost to Zuko how she must feel about him. The first time she saw him, she screamed. And everytime since then, it felt as though she was always ready to run, always looking for an open door so she could hide from him. He knows it's not really about him, but the hurt was hard to mask when everytime he would look at her, she flinched.

Yet still, he remembered how she looked in dark red, drawing out the red that flashed against her too pale skin. She was so much worse afflicted, at least on the surface, by his family… It amazed him that she could bear to leave her burnt flesh uncovered. He hated that his scar was so visible, and was envious of how her’s were so easily hidden. It amazed him that she chose not to.

And there was something else, another image of her that was stuck in his brain and it had nothing to do with medical injury. When she bowed to him. The first person to bow to him after his coronation. Long dark hair cascading over her shoulders, touching the ground before her. Linhua, on her knees. Just the image in his mind made him lose his step and he had to pause to regain composure. 

He already felt responsible for whatever hell his sister put her through, he didn’t need to be thinking about how beautiful she looked in that dress. 

As he neared the edge of the city on the bridge of the volcano that makes up Caldera, he began to spot the sparse towers that make up the jail hold for the palace. He knew his father was in the tallest tower, but that would have to wait for another night. One where his mind would be more clear and the dust of the war settled around him. No, tonight, he was here to see someone else.

The guards let him pass every gate without question as he made his way up the tower. Once he reached the door he had been looking for, he took a moment to steal himself away, preparing for what he was about to face.

He calmly opened the door and walked inside.

“Oh, hello, Zuzu.”

Zuko stood there in silence, not quite knowing what he came here for, and more than happy to let Azula take the lead. There was nothing she could do to him now. She was wrapped in chains and locked in a cage at the back wall. He knew she was immobile but was still keeping his distance since her mouth wasn’t gagged. She could spit fire at him at any second.

Zuko took this opportunity to really examine his sister. Her hair was cut in the front at a harsh angle, her makeup from the day before was smeared and worn down over her face, but worst of all was her eyes. Something inside her eyes was shattered. Zuko had never seen his sister in such a state of weakness in all his life. But here, chained to the floor in this prison cell she looked… scared.

“Oh, please, have you come to grant me pardon? Well I won’t accept it! I don’t need anything from you.”

“Azula, you have to know that isn’t an option for you anymore.” The words had been in his mind for a while now. He knew he wouldn’t be able to spare her, no matter how young she was. They were both young, and he was still able to make the right choices. 

However, he didn’t expect the look on Azula’s face as the words sunk in. Her face pinched together in confusion, then panic. She struggled against her chains with her eyes shut. Out of her throat escaped a growl which was abruptly cut short when Azula finally writhed onto her knees with her arms behind her back.

“I know mother never loved me as much as she loved you!” Her voice was breaking against the strain, she couldn’t hurt him physically, and these desperate words were her last weapons. 

At Zuko’s parted lips and wide eyes, Azula grunted pointedly at him. 

“If you’re just going to stare at me like that, why don’t we just  _ ask _ her then?” Azula turned to an empty corner of the room. “Well?! What have you to say for yourself?” Azula’s voice was rising and rising with each word she screamed until she was yelling through her tears. This wasn’t what Zuko had expected at all.

“Azula, please, this isn’t what I came here for…” Azula was still crying over his words. “You stand trial before each nation in two weeks' time. Please, listen to me. There is nothing I can do to spare you.”

“NO! I won’t listen to you! You are weak! You cannot control me!”

Zuko breathed in, breathed out.

“Azula, if you won’t be sensible to talk to me about this, at least answer for your actions against Linhua.”

At this, Azula froze in her struggles. She slowly and slyly fell back against the wall in a normal seating position and smuggly looked up at Zuko. The princess began to let out a slight laugh.

“Oh, brother, do tell me, how is my little pet doing?” The eyes Zuko saw broken before had vanished and he found himself looking back at his sister, Azula, proud and manipulative, in front of him. She grinned from ear to ear at Zuko’s silence.

“I mean, she is alive, right? I didn’t think I burned her…  _ that _ deep.” He knew she was toying with him, but he didn’t seem to be able to stop her from talking. As tantalizing as her poisonous words were, they were still information. Linhua was too great a mystery, and honestly, too heavy a guilt, in his mind. 

“I mean, honestly Zuko, do you think she’s one of you now? Has she snuck into your heart, big brother? I wouldn’t be surprised,” she said with a smirk, “you always had a soft spot for tortured people.”

At her sharp insult, Zuko flinched back towards the door. Azula had always known which buttons of his to push. The newly crowned Fire Lord gathered himself and said coldly to his caged sister, “Enough, If you won’t talk about your trial with me, then I’m leaving.”

As Zuko turned to exit, Azula laughed full heartedly. “Oh, I’m quite soothed after this visit, dear brother. Do give  _ my _ Linny  _ my _ love.”

Zuko shut the door behind him, but not before he caught sight of Azula’s gaze behind the cage bars. Something in her words and changes of confidence upset Zuko. He no longer felt as secure with Azula’s imprisonment and doubled the guards on his way back to the palace.

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy another chapter! Just a few one shots of Lin interacting with the members of the gang.
> 
> Hope y'all like it, and please leave a comment and bookmark so you can be kept up to date when we publish the next chapter!
> 
> -Ray

Linhua was able to slip away from the group just as Sokka was finishing up with his painting. She couldn’t believe where she was, in the heart of the Earth Kingdom, hundreds of miles away from the only home she’d ever known. Ba Sing Se was more beautiful than she could have ever dreamed.

It wasn’t even the tall oak trees or sweeping mountain ranges of the Earth Kingdom that captivated her, but the people she had met on her short journey thus far: mothers, sons, workers, students, farmers, merchants, all completely different from the next. Each day brought a new memory to help push away those she wished she could forget.

Lin was just finishing up washing her hands in the back room of the tea shop, when Sokka came flying in through the swinging doors.

“Move it, move it, move it, I need to wash my eyes out!” He lightly pushed Lin away from the water tub and proceeded to dunk his entire head into the barrel. 

Lin couldn’t help the sharp laugh that escaped her as she tried to pull Sokka’s head out of the water. But, since Sokka is the biggest drama queen Lin had ever met, he kept resisting her strength and holding his head underwater. Eventually Lin gave up playing, knowing that he would have to come up for air at some point.

As Sokka pulled back harshly, water sprayed Lin in an arch. Her indignant huff reminded Sokka that he had an audience to perform for.  _ Total. Drama queen. _

“I just saw Aang and Katara kissing!” Sokka grabbed hold of Lin’s shoulders and started to shake her back and forth as if she wasn’t paying enough attention. Lin didn’t even try to fight the laughter that bubbled out of her. Sokka had a way of making her smile, or laugh, or even on occasion  _ snort _ , with his melodramatic ass.

“Calm down! Calm down.” But Lin only said it half heartedly, since she was still laughing so hard. She could feel her eyes crinkle as tears formed in her eyes. “So what if they kissed? She is old enough to make those decisions without her big brother making such a fuss about it!”

Sokka immediately pulled back in mock betrayal. “How dare you! I confided in you! She’s just a little girl!” He said while putting the back of his hand to his head like a maiden in distress.

His dramatics only made Lin laugh harder. She had to hold onto a nearby counter to steady herself or she would fall to the floor laughing. “I hate to break it to you, Sokka, but that ‘little girl’ has had a thing for the Avatar ever since I’ve known her. You’d have to be a fool not to see it.”

“How would you know, you’ve known her all of five days!” Sokka raised his arms above his head incredulously, but Lin had stilled. He was right. It had only been five days since Katara had burst into that room. Lin locked eyes with Sokka again, and this time, even the counter couldn’t hold her up. She fell to the floor with laughter and made herself into a ball to try and quiet her barks of joy. It was ridiculous, Sokka was ridiculous, but then again so was she. 

When she finally controlled herself well enough to stand, Sokka looked like he was ready to accept her apology, his arms wide in front of him and his eyes softly closed. Instead he felt her rush past him and out the door into the main room. As she barged through the door, all eyes were on her and her loud entrance, including a pair of golden ones from across the room. How odd, she thinks briefly, that the Fire Lord was serving tea to others. 

Finally, a grand smile split her face open. 

“Guys! You will not believe what Sokka is doing right now!”

~#~

Lin giggled her way through the group out toward the balcony of the Jasmine Dragon. The sun was orange, setting over the horizon and creating this beautiful glow over the rings of Ba Sing Se. Still in awe of the vast amounts of green, so different from the fiery red… well, everything. The dingy, grey volcanic rock that covered the Fire Nation couldn’t hold a candle to the colorful landscape in front of her. 

“Such a wonderful sunset, isn’t it?” A calm feminine voice appeared at Lin’s side causing her to jump a little in surprise. Lin resorted back to tranquility when she saw the soft, yet colorful features on Suki’s face. 

As soon as the group arrived in Ba Sing Se, Lin had met with Taili and made amends with her oldest and closest friend. She learned that Taili had joined forces with this girl, Suki, after the war was over and planned to move to Kyoshi Island. Though Lin was so happy to hear that not only was Taili safe, but she was thriving in her new life, she was also slightly jealous of the clear path her friend was set on.

Suki’s voice broke Lin away from her thoughts. “I know we didn’t get to talk much back in Caldera, but since we’re here I’d love to get to know you!” Suki smiled.

Suki really was gorgeous, Lin had a hard time believing she’s dating Sokka. Lin responded “I’d like to get to know you too.” A smile cracked wide on Lin’s face. “So, what about Sokka, huh?” Lin joked almost immediately. 

“Ugh, don't get me  _ started _ on that dummy!” Suki giggled. “He is such a damn drama queen!”

The two fell into a fit of laughter as they poked fun at the poor boy. Lin thought that although Sokka was handsome, and sure seemed smart when he wanted to be, the rest of the time he acted as a class clown for the group.

“No, but really, it’s so nice to be in Ba Sing Se again.” Suki said looking longingly toward the horizon. “How do you like it?” 

Lin spared no time giving an enthusiastic answer, “Oh, it’s wonderful. It’s so green, I don’t think I have seen anything like it. What about where you’re from? It’s named after Avatar Kyoshi, right?”

“Yes, the island of Kyoshi! Everything is wonderful there, y’know, except for the unagi.” Suki shrugged, as if that were obvious.

_ The unagi? _ Lin hadn’t heard of anything like that before, “What’s that?”

“Well, apparently, something for Aang to use to surf!” She shouted back towards the open doors and to their friends inside. 

Aang looked at the two on the balcony, shrugged and said, “Hey, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Both girls were now giggling softly at the Avatar’s mischievous side. 

Suki looked back to Lin, ready to answer her. “The unagi is a giant eel-like sea creature that has been around since the time of Avatar Kyoshi.” 

“But when Aang saw it, his first thought was to surf?” Lin questions, causing the girls to look back again at the young monk and laugh again.

Something about Suki, the way she laughed or how calmly she talked or how mature she acted made Lin feel safe and at home. Something Lin hadn’t felt in a long time. 

“Yeah, but I mean to be fair, we’re all pretty crazy. Do you want to hear about the time Sokka, Zuko, and I broke free from the boiling rock by taking the warden hostage?” Suki asked with an eagerness in her eyes, excited to tell the incredible tale yet again.

“Would I ever!” Lin exclaimed with butterflies in her stomach at the start of her new friendship. 

~#~

Leaving Ba Sing Se was harder for Lin than she had thought it would be. Even though she had only spent a few days in the city, she was hesitant to leave it. The Earth Kingdom was so beautiful, and tonight would be her last night in it, at least for a while.

The gang and Lin were camped out near the shore on the southwest coast of the Earth Kingdom. Tomorrow, they would reach the South Pole and see where Katara and Sokka were raised. They had told Lin that it was nothing to be excited about, just hunks of floating ice and a few huts, another necessary stop before heading back to the Fire Nation. Somehow, Lin, having never seen snow, still knew that her breath would be taken away at the sight of it.

While everyone was either setting up camp, looking for firewood, or exploring the area nearby, Lin and Aang started to unpack Appa.

The enormous beast scared the hell out of Lin when she first saw him, but with a long flick of his tongue, Lin seemed to be Appa’s new best friend-- that is, after Aang, of course. However, she still couldn’t quite get used to the sensation of flying. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it was similar to how she felt when she was on a boat in the ocean. Too nauseous to enjoy the passing views around her, and aching for solid and steady ground beneath her.

“Don’t worry,” Aang’s cheerful voice filled the comfortable silence they had formed, “You’ll get used to flying around with us. Appa’s great!” He seemed to read her thoughts.

Lin couldn’t help but break into an easy smile at the boy before her. She couldn’t believe someone so compassionate could be so powerful. She wishes she had known him sooner. 

“It isn’t that I don’t think Appa’s great,” Lin pleaded, “He is! I just wish I could enjoy traveling with you all  _ without _ having to hold a basket to my chest the entire time.”

Lin’s light prodding at her own sky sickness caused Aang to give her a light laugh. “I know, I know. Toph says the same thing.” Aang’s voice suddenly drops into a deep, gruff tone, giving his best Toph impression that he can. “I love you Appa, but I just can’t stand being up in the sky like twinkle toes over here!”

Lin feels her eyes twitch and crinkle in laughter as they finally get all their supplies down off Appa’s back. She could  _ totally _ hear Toph saying that.

“Aang? What were the Air Nomads like?” Aang, Sokka, and Katara had been filling her in on their long journey that started a little under a year ago. She knew a lot about their battles and feats, but no one seems to want to talk about where Aang came from. Lin usually knew when to leave well enough alone, but she had to admit to herself: this young boy in front of her was such a mystery, and she couldn’t stop herself from prying.

Aang’s face went slack and Lin instantly regretted bringing it up. But then something amazing happened over the Avatar’s features. He went from scared, to calm, but not in the blink of an eye. Lin could see him letting go of his fears as his face slowly relaxed into a look of peace.

“You know how Sokka and Katara found me in that iceberg?” Lin nodded sullenly. “Well before I was frozen in the ice, I lived at the Southern Air Temple. I was raised by monks and practiced airbending from as early as I can remember.” Aang sounded cheerful, but Lin was not so sure if he was feigning it or not.

“Aang, if this isn’t something you want to talk about, I’m sorry, we can change the subject--” Lin tried to amend herself, fearing that she knew where this story was going. She grew up in the Fire Nation. She knew what they did to Aang’s people.

“No, Lin, it's okay. Talking about them reminds me that they are still with me. I am very grateful to have a friend like you who is kind enough to ask about them.” His eyes seemed sincere so Lin sat down on the ground as the sun set around them. Aang followed suit and sat next to her. They both gazed out at the explosion of colors over the ocean.

“I was told I was the Avatar right before the war began, but then I ran away from the Temple. I don’t know, it's hard to explain, but for a brief moment, I panicked. I did something selfish and left my home. I flew South and got stuck in a blizzard, and, well, you know the rest… It was the last time I saw my friends.” Aang looked solemn yet still appeared as though he wasn’t too uncomfortable sharing with her.

“The monks who raised me were amazing, Lin. I wish you could meet them. I hope that I can carry on what they have taught me.”

Lin looked fondly at the kid in front of her. She was truly amazed at how humble and wholesome a person of his power is. She pulled Aang into a deep hug.

“Something tells me you already are.”

At that point, Katara and Zuko returned to the makeshift beach camp. Aang jumped up and out of Lin’s arms, landing like a feather about ten feet away from her.

“Nothing happened, Katara I swear!” Aang hollered over the sand, flushed red with embarrassment. 

The surprised expression that Lin wore in response to Aang’s rapid response wasn’t lost on either of the newcomers as Katara and Zuko burst out laughing. Katara’s laugh was rounded out and infectious, but Zuko was the one whom Lin couldn’t tear her eyes away from.

He stood there next to the waterbender, arms full of tree branches and such. His face was turned into one of pure joy, and not the kind that can be faked. Her heart felt envious of that easy going smile that settled onto his face as the pair walked towards the center of the camp to lay the wood down. 

Zuko suddenly looked up and smiled at Lin, making her heart skip a beat, but even she couldn’t tell why anymore.

“Alright!” Sokka and Toph came out from the tree line, ‘Who’s ready to eat some meat?” 

Aang, the sole vegetarian, rolled his eyes.

~#~

Lin didn’t think she had seen this much blue in her entire life. 

She stood on the top of a glacier on the edge of the icy landscape and the dark blue sea. When Lin looked back behind her, she could see the small circle in the distance of the Southern Water Tribe. Katara wasn’t kidding. It was small, but that didn’t mean she found it any less captivating as the expansive Earth Kingdom.

The gang had needed to make this pit stop on their journey back to the Fire Nation in order for Sokka and Katara to meet with their village leaders regarding their official diplomatic position at the end of the war. They would be in meetings all day, or so Lin thought, which is why she was surprised to see Katara in the foreground of her view as she stalked towards Lin.

“I thought you would be holed up with the others all day? What happened?” Lin asked as Katara finished her approach.

The watertribe girl huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest in clear annoyance. “They wouldn’t let me attend the meetings!” It was clear that Katara had walked onto the glacier in need of someone to rant to. 

Lin decided to offer herself up for the position. “They said  _ what _ ?”

Relieved at the girl's response, Katara continued, “They said that it isn’t a ‘woman’s’ place to be in politics and that it's just not the way things are done in the water tribes! I completely blame the Northern Water Tribe’s influence. Ever since their representatives arrived, my dad says that they had pushed all of the women off the tribe’s council!” 

Katara’s voice rose as her arms animated her frustrations for Lin. Lin knew that the water tribes were a deeply traditional culture, but she didn’t expect them to uphold such views, especially for a war hero such as Katara. But no matter how much so understood Katara’s anger, she had to stop the girl from flailing her arms about. The glacier began to shake beneath them.

“Woah, hey,” Lin tried to sooth as she reached out to stop Katara’s arms from falling downwards once again. “You are going to make us both fall to our deaths if you keep bending like that.” She said as softly to her first friend since Azula’s fall.

The seas and glaciers around them calmed with Katara’s relaxing heart. Soon, the landscape was frozen in both stillness and temperature. 

“Sorry… It's just frustrating, having to constantly fight for your place in this world, you know? I love my home and my people, but some of our traditions are too old fashioned.”

“I get it.” Lin offered Katara a smile. “In the Fire Nation, women can be in positions of power, but at least in my experience, oppression can still be seen in more subtle ways…” 

Lin’s mind drifted to the screams and forced submission underneath Ozai’s rule, and to how no one had the guts to stand up against those in power, to stand up for her.

Katara noticed the shift in Lin’s far away gaze. Gently, the waterbender placed a hand on the frail girl's shoulder. “At least we have each other now…” 

The two girls stood like that, overlooking the icy wonderland before them, but no longer affected by the cold.

~#~

“Okay, Jitterbug, I have a proposition for you.” Toph’s voice was surprisingly quiet over their group's campfire. Lin took Toph’s queue and lowered her voice as well. 

“Oh, great, I wonder what shenanigans you are planning now, great Melon Lord.” Toph's smile widened at the nickname and scooted closer to Lin.

“So while we are here in the Earth kingdom, I thought we could pick up a few goods.” The glint in the girls grey eyes was full of mischief. 

“Why do I feel like these goods are goods you are not allowed to possess?” Lin shot back at her friend. 

Toph feigned mock surprise. “I would never.” Both girls began laughing with ease. 

“Okay,” Lin conceded, “So what are these goods?”

Lin had felt the regret of going along with Toph’s plan almost instantly. The little earthbender had hurriedly explained her desire to purchase some cacti from a small desert settlement not far from where they camped out. The only catch, Katara was not allowed to know about this. 

Lin felt like Toph’s intentions weren’t bad and it had been awhile since she had done something adventurous, besides this whole trip obviously. She found herself hiking with Toph in the middle of the night through the Earth Kingdom until they reached a nearby desert.

“Nuh-uh, Toph, no way. We are so going to get lost is that thing.”

“No, wait! I had been practicing my seismic sense on the beaches we’ve been on. I’m getting better at clearing up the picture through sand. I can practically see the town we need to reach. It’s just beyond those dunes!”

Oh, well, this seemed just about as good of a way to go, smuggling illegal cacti out of the Earth Kingdom for a sixteen year old girl. They both ventured onto the dunes.

All of a sudden, Toph halted in her tracks. “Shh!” She stopped Lin, almost smacking her in the face when she put her hand up. “See over there?” Toph bends her elbow to point at a bunch of abandoned boat-like structures. “Those are sand sailers,” The mischievous smile on Toph’s face made her anticipate the girls next sentence. “We should totally take one.”

Lin was unsure at first, but upon further thought, moving faster through this desert would put most of Lin’s fears of getting lost aside. “Let’s go for it,” Lin says with a devilish smirk on her face to match her friend’s. 

Toph giggles with excitement, “Yes! We have to move quickly before the sandbenders come back.”

The two girls tunnelled into the sand, using Toph’s bending. In the tunnel, the sand started becoming slightly more solid under Lin’s feet. Neither Lin nor Toph noticed it. Lin, strangely, felt comfortable underneath the sand. They tunneled out and hid behind the nearest sand sailer.

“The sand benders feel closer than before, we need to be quick and careful,” Toph admitted. Lin squinted and saw some beige silhouettes in the distance. 

Lin slugged her empty bags onto the sand sailer which was keeping them hidden. The two girls climbed on without the sand bender’s notice. When they began sailing away, Lin heard some screaming in the distance. “Uhhh, Toph, we have a problem here!” 

Without missing a beat Toph turned around and buried the remaining sand sailors, continuing to sail away. “Not anymore.”

They made it to and from the Misty Palms “oasis” without much trouble, but Lin was dead tired upon their return. She stashed the bottled cactus juice in her travel sac and slept on Appa the whole way back to the Fire Nation. 

She was excited and nervous to be heading home, but Lin couldn’t deny that she was slightly relieved that this would be her last day on Appa, at least for a while. She definitely was glad she wasn’t born to the Air Nomads. She could barely stomach flying.

Once they landed in Caldera, there was a large procession welcoming them. Well, yes them, but more specifically, their Fire Lord. On this trip, it was easy to fall into a familiarity with him, even through her carefully planned distance.  _ That was all about to be gone _ , she thought deflated. 

Toph and Lin carefully,  _ very _ carefully, snuck into the palace’s wine reserve and threw a small party in the dining hall. Katara was shocked at first, but to Toph’s surprise declared, “You only live once… and who knows? Maybe it  _ is _ the quenchiest!” Katara finished her speech with a pointed smile at her brother and then took several swigs of the light green liquid.

Toph burst out laughing, “That’s my Sugar Queen! All hail Sugar Queen!” Sokka looked slightly dejected, but grabbed the bottle anyway, a loving smile breaking through his fake anger. Even Aang had a small sip. Zuko, however, felt uncomfortable with bending his own laws, and refused to partake in the cactus juice; he did concede to drinking a few glasses of wine with his friends after the long journey. 

Lin looked around the table at the people she had grown close with this past week and a half. She had traveled so far, and met so many people, but it was still those surrounding her tonight that made her heart feel right. For the first time in such a long, long time, Lin let herself believe what Katara had said to her that first night. She was safe. For now, at least.

Lin raised her bottle of wine in one hand and the glass of green liquid in the other. “To my dearest strangers, turning into my dearest friends.” 

The group looked at her slightly surprised, but quickly, their looks melted into something resembling affection and that was enough of that for Lin. No need for her to ruin this perfect night by crying. 

She placed both bottles in her mouth and  _ chugged _ .

Her friends' faces lit up with a happy surprise as they watched her continue. After about five seconds of insistent gulping, their surprise grew into worry. Katara quickly got up to stop her, but was tackled to the ground by Toph.    
  


“No, Sugar Queen! What did you just say?” She gave a devious look to Lin as her mouth cracked into the biggest smile. “You only live once!”

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I wanted to preface this with a quick note! 
> 
> First of all, 
> 
> **DISCLAIMER**  
> There are mentions of physical abuse in this chapter, so please, proceed at your own discretion.  
> *THANK YOU*
> 
> Secondly, thank you all for being so patient! We are both busy college students and have trouble balancing our schedules. Well, I do, I can't speak for Ray haha! We really appreciate the support we have received and will try to continue to update to the best of our ability! We hope you enjoy!
> 
> Please comment and bookmark so you can be updated when we post new chapters! :)
> 
> -ginger_lian

Maybe Lin shouldn’t have tried to keep up with the sixteen year olds. Both Toph and Aang seemed to be handling their hallucinogenic just fine, but nearly an hour into the party, Lin couldn’t feel her toes anymore.

“Okay, Jitterbug, your heartbeat is finally beating at a normal rate, but I don’t think that's a good thing if it’s coming from the alcohol.” Toph laced an arm around the pale woman she calls her friend and drags her to the couch near the far wall of the parlor. It's annoying how sober she sounds.

Lin couldn’t remember when they moved from the dining room, but she can tell that they are obviously  _ not _ in it now and decides to adapt rather than panic.

“I can’t--  _ hiccup _ \-- I can't feel my toes, Melon Lord” Lin said with a decidedly over drawn frown, every slurred word made Toph smile wider and wider.

“If I'd known how ridiculous you get when you’re drunk, I would have proposed this social call  _ much _ earlier in the trip.” Toph layed Lin out on the couch and sat down on the floor in front of her, taking in the scene of the room. 

Katara and Aang were watching some performance of Sokka’s. He seemed to be telling a story about a sabertooth moose lion or something, but she would have to admit, the way Sokka was animating the scene like he was playing charades was extremely entertaining.

He raised his hands high in the air as he animates himself jumping down from a tree. “An- and an- and I jumped down-  _ hiccup-  _ from _ -hiccup- _ from a tree and I landed in a ho- hoe… I mean hole, tehe.” Sokka was gone, like more that Lin gone… more like astral planning gone. “Toph! Make a hole so I can fall in it!” Sokka requests from across the room. Lin snorts incessantly in response as Toph puts Sokka in a hole in the marble floor. A faint, “Thank You” comes from a half-buried Sokka as he continues to talk about… what did he call it? Fufucuddlypoops?

Zuko was with them, but slightly off from the group, still listening to Sokka, but with a slightly more alert look in his eyes. Toph knew he wasn’t drunk. Hell, she would be shocked if he was tipsy. Note to self: the Fire Lord does not imbibe in alcohol.

“Okay, Linny, we are going to play a drinking game. And here is the kicker.” Toph pulled a glass of water off the end table she is next to and hands it to Lin. “We are playing with water until you can rally your cute little ass back to join the group.”

Toph thought she heard Zuko snort at her words, but when she looked back at the others, Zuko and everyone else were still listening to Sokka rambling about the baby sabertooth moose lion cub manipulating the powers of karma on him. 

Lin was far enough across the room that she could only hear when he was screaming, and out of context she heard, “An- and  _ then  _ he gave me a fucking apple, but had the  _ audacity  _ not to roll it over to me.” Weakened by laughter from the ridiculous statement, Lin barely lifted her head and started gulping down the water anyway. “Great, I’m glad to see you got the hang of this game already.” Toph looked fondly at the older girl laying above her. 

Lin slammed the empty glass down loudly, startling Toph, but not drawing attention from the others, and leaned down into Toph’s ear. 

“Toph, I have a secret.”  _ Oh, boy _ , Toph thought,  _ this ought to be grand _ .

“I don’t think I like Zuko all that much.” This stunned the earthbender for a moment before she could control her assumptions. Lin is tougher than she seems.

“What do you mean? How come?”

Lin scoffed at Toph’s seeming ignorance. “Look at him!” Lin gestured towards the lanky boy in the corner, awkwardly listening in to a conversation, well now two conversations. “He’s not even drunk.” 

“Do you want him to be, Jitterbug?” Toph said with a knowing smirk. At this Zuko tilted his head towards the girls on the couch behind him.

Toph noticed, and decided to capitalize on the awkward Fire Lord. “Because, if you wanted him to drink more, all you would have to do is ask him!” 

Zuko then turned a full glare towards Toph, guessing at the game she’s playing, but Lin didn’t seem to notice.

A unnecessarily loud gasp of realization escaped Lin’s mouth. “You’re right!” Lin struggled to get on her feet while Toph was biting on her hand to keep herself from laughing as her new friend basically strutted across the room and landed on the chair next to Zuko.

“Listen, buddy-Fire Lord-guy. I can’t help but notice that I am drunker than you, sir.”

At that, Zuko’s jaw dropped to the floor and Toph couldn’t help but squeal in her hands at the scene she had crafted. A drunken Linhua, normally too timid around Sparky to even look him in the eyes, just called him buddy, and then sir. 

Toph’s work here was done and with a cracking of her knuckles she kicked Sokka out of the his hole, which must have resembled how she did it in his story. Lin could tell because of the gasp/squeal combination Sokka gave as Toph was then subtly pulling Aang, Katara, and the far gone Sokka out the room. 

“Late night, early morning, blah, blah, blah…” Toph let out an obviously fake yawn as the door shut fast behind them.

Zuko was left dizzy at how quickly the scene had changed. Why was Toph smiling at him like that? Why would she take everyone else away? Lin seems too far gone to even notice that it’s just them in the room anymore.

This felt wrong. He couldn’t just trick a girl into talking to him. He made to get out of his seat when Lin reached her hand out to grab his wrist. For once, it's Zuko freezing instead of Lin. Zuko looked into her eyes and saw the same broken pieces he saw in his sister on the day of their final Agni Kai. Only in Azula’s eyes, there was still a fire. When he gazed down at Lin, her eyes felt cold and empty.

“Please…” Her voice was too tortured to lash out. All she could manage was her whisper, “Don’t leave me.” 

~#~ 

_ Agni, what was she thinking? _ Lin thought much too quickly before pushing forward. Her hand slipped down Zuko’s until she fell right off his fingertips.

“Sorry,” still incredibly intoxicated, “I know I shouldn’t talk to you like that, Toph just asked me to and--.” Lin’s loss of words wasn’t helped by Zuko’s continual look of surprise.

Zuko struggled for motor control of his body as he lowered himself back into the chair opposite to her. He looked like a scared animal in headlights, and Lin silently cursed herself for shattering the fragile ecosystem that she carefully had built around them over some drunken words. 

Oh, well. She’s already fucking up, why not fuck up royally, right?

“You frighten me.”

His golden on her green. Somehow though, she was already set in her resolve. If the group trusted him, then she would just have to as well. And again… the alcohol made her  _ so _ much braver. She didn’t look away.

Lin thought the eye contact would be more like a pissing contest, as in who would look away first, but his eyes had none of the competitive and aggressive emotion that she expected to find. He looked at her, like  _ at _ her. It didn’t feel like Zuko was seeing her body or her facade, but  _ her _ . Her true self inside, and he kept digging deeper into her soul with each passing second.

_ Woah, maybe  _ you  _ should be the one to look away _ , she thought.

She didn’t. 

“I can’t even begin to understand what she did to you.” The words coming out of the Fire Lords mouth were so soft and sewn with guilt and sorrow. She wondered how a person could make their voice sound so heartbroken and she looked at the source of his speech. 

His mouth was slightly agape after speaking and a dark red from drinking the wine. 

Dangerous. Lin averted her eyes to the scar maring his cheek and eyelid.

“I know that you of all people would be the only one who could even come close to understanding.” Lin was shocked to hear her own voice sounding just as lost as his. 

Zuko closed his eyes against his own haunting memories, but of his father, rather than his sister. Lin started to see him as separate from his family’s mistakes. She had been for a little while now… and with his eyes shut like that, he looked just as bruised and scarred as she felt on the inside.

This conversation was beginning to sober her up, as her mind willed her to pay attention, telling her that something important was happening in this room. She wanted to tell him more.

“She would burn me if I didn’t obey her…” She tested the waters, not knowing what Zuko’s reaction would be to her vulnerability. When he made no move to open his eyes, she continued. “It started off small at first, just the threat in her eyes, but soon she was fulfilling what she had promised. She started separating me from Taili, and even Mei seemed indifferent to what was happening, but it was always so hard to read her so… I’m not sure what was going on with her.”

The words seemed to flow through her after being bitten back for so long. It didn't even matter anymore that it was to Fire Lord Zuko who she was pouring her heart out to.

“Azula always had an eye for me, ever since I met her. She told me that was the only reason she kept me around all day: just so she could look at me. It grew and grew, but there was nothing to be done about it. I was already trapped… Did you know your sister can make lightning?”

Lin looked up at the boy across from her. He nodded, with his eyes still closed.

“Yeah, well… I’m pretty sure I was her test run. She would hold me down in bed and--” Lin made a noise with her teeth that sounded like the buzz of an oncoming storm. After a pause, she said the first thing that came to mind. 

“I wish I never came to this place.”

“I am so sorry.”

_ Huh? Did the Fire Lord just apologize to her?  _ She looked up to him in his chair, as he shook with either anger or shame, she couldn’t guess.

“I was in the palace a couple of months ago, for a few weeks, I was here. I could have helped you. I could have--” The rising anxiety in Zuko’s voice was feeding into Lin’s and she jumped to stop him from escalating. She placed her hands on his knees and he stopped in his tracks.

“I was locked away in jail, and rumored to be dead before the palace staff saw Azula drag me back into her room. There was nothing to be done. I just had to give this lecture to a sobbing Taili when we were back in Ba Sing Se, are you really going to make me comfort the Fire lord next?”

Lin meant to say the words in a teasing voice to try and lighten the room, but they came out with more venom than she had hoped. Immediately, she tried to smooth out the error in her tone. She lightly moved her hands to his were where they lay on his lap. 

To her mild shock, the Fire Lord opened his palms and held her there. They must have been the most peculiar scene. The Fire Lord sitting across from his sister’s practice dummy holding hands and hunched over towards each other. 

“There’s a way you can get justice for yourself, Lin” Zuko’s voice was so sweet in the darkly lit parlor. There was only a small fire burning in the hearth on the wall. Lin didn’t expect this to be where the party would place her at the end of the night. Zuko continued as he moved his thumb back and forth over hers. “She is facing trial in a couple of days. You could testify against her. Not that we need more proof, but if it would make you feel better, to help bring her to justice, you would be more than encouraged to take the stand. And I-- I mean, we will be there for you, if you need us.”

A beat passed.

Testifying against Azula? That meant seeing Azula. Lin didn’t know what to feel about that proposition, but here her Fire Lord was looking at her with such hope and expectation in his bright, beautiful eyes. Maybe she could be as strong as he thought she was, as strong as all of her new friends thought.

“Okay. I’ll try.”

Zuko flashed a grin that felt too real and Lin broke apart their hands. She moved to stand.

“Although, You may need to remind me tomorrow. Tonight has been a doozy and a half.” Lin holds her head in mock ache to get her point across as she heads towards the door.

She looks back to see the Fire Lord gazing at her with a look in his eye that she can’t quite place. It makes Lin blush hard and shut the door quickly behind her, separating them for the night.


End file.
